Shed The Pounds: Why I Always Travel Light

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Humans are “pack rats”: we tend to collect an abundance of things that might come in handy one day. You don’t even have to be diagnosed as a hoarder. Everyone has things hidden in a closet or basement that they don’t particularly need, now or ever. For a while my basement had a collection of duplicate, old furniture that I was planning to either sell or give away for free to someone who might need it more than me. That never happened. Instead more and more accumulated in my basement, and every item itself accumulated more and more layers of dust. If I truly wanted to live a more simple life, I decided I needed to get rid of all the clutter. I donated anything that was in good shape to charity, and paid a garbage removal service serious cash to have the remainder of the mess removed. When I saw their bill I knew one man’s trash truly is another man’s treasure. At least I freed up some empty space, both in basement and my wallet.

I inherited some of my grandfathers habits, and had a hard time getting rid of certain things, especially the ones that had some sort of memory or sentimental value attached to them. I really had to get over myself. If I couldn’t deal with losing an item I’d try to sell it on a classified ads site. Especially gadgets and electronics seem to do pretty well. That way I converted some of my clutter into cash, which I could use while traveling. I’ve funded a number of smaller trips this way, by just converting clutter into cash.

Shedding The Pounds: Reducing Clutter

I’ve moved to different homes, cities and even a different country more than I cared for in my life. I don’t particularly hate moving, as to me it’s a great way to declutter my life and tidy everything up, and then start from scratch somewhere else. When packing for a move, I follow a strict rule to make sure I’m not bringing too much: for every box I pack, I have to fill up at least one garbage bag with things I’m throwing out, giving away to friends and family or donating to charity. When unpacking the boxes in the new home I often question why I decided to bring certain things anyway, and end up tossing almost a quarter to half of what I brought with me. This process has shown me the eighty-twenty rule applies even to worldly possessions: it’s the twenty percent of the things I own, that I use about eighty percent of the time. The remaining eighty percent of my possessions is a waste of space and money.

Why I Always Travel Light

And the same eighty-twenty rule applies when traveling. For many years I carried too many things with me that I barely even needed, if at all, while abroad. The one advice most experienced travellers will give when asked, is to travel as light as possible. Get rid of all the unnecessary clutter.

This post contains excerpts from my travel book The Freedom Project, a #1 international bestseller available on Amazon and finer book retailers worldwide.

The Freedom Project shows a new approach to travel as a lifestyle. Travel has countless benefits to all areas of life, and they are available to everyone. This book is the liberating blueprint for finding freedom and happiness in your traveling life.

The Book: Just Fly

I wrote my book first and foremost because I had a message to share: I want to inspire as many people as possible to “just fly”, to go travel and see this beautiful planet we live on. The book has inspired many to go travel more and see more of this beautiful planet we live on. And that’s what it was all about to begin with.

The importance of this book became clear to me when people attending my art events were drawn to the images that I took on my many travels, and commented on “how they wish they had gone there”. A lot of things can get in the way of getting away, but the benefits of travel affect all areas of life. They say travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer. My book will inspire many to go explore and provide the tools to make dreams a reality.

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